Torn
by Celestial-Devil
Summary: A collection of oneshots with Thomas and Ryoga, and their never-ending fun with their strange but strong friendship. Rated T for language, violence, and suggestive themes.
1. Fanservice Prince

That Goddamn heart throb.

IV, Thomas, the man of Fan service, the man of many names. He was a widely known hero, an idol to many around the entire continent of Asia, and perhaps even the world. Many a woman would swoon over him. His smile, his laugh, his appearance, everything about him was perfect. Even the scar on his eye, possibly his only flaw, complimented his face beautifully.

Everyone loved him, and Ryoga was no exception. 

Despite having lost to him in the National Duel Circuit— due to disqualification, of course— Ryoga bore feelings, strong, overwhelming feelings, for the Arclight son that could not go ignored.

However, it seemed unrequited, since Thomas had always enjoyed the fame and the women who adored him. There was no way he would acknowledge Ryoga's attraction towards him. Hell, he might even laugh at him for it.

There was no way he'd let the idol find out about his feelings.

"Ryoga..."

The sound of his name by said man snapped him out of his thoughts, and he found himself staring into ruby red eyes. He blinked and looked over Thomas's face, who looked quite unhappy to have been ignored. "What?"

Thomas placed his hands on his hips, frown deepening. "Have you even heard a word I said?"

Let's be honest. He was more focused on the possibility of getting into the other's pants. "… No."

This earned an eye roll from the Arclight, as he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "That's the second time you spaced out during our conversation. What the hell, Ryoga?"

Ryoga's eyes snaked down from Thomas's eyes to his lips, then to his neck, chest, torso, and between his legs. Oh Lord, how he wanted to rip those clothes off his flesh and just have his way with him. He was almost to the point of not caring about Thomas's reaction anymore.

Thomas blinked, watching as the purple haired boy's gaze fell down his body. He didn't know whether or not he should feel flattered, or repulsed, or something in between. Why was Ryoga looking at him the way he was? Was it out of the ordinary? Out of judgment? Sexual desire?

… Did he want him that way?

He immediately shoved those thoughts aside. Why on earth would Ryoga ever want to have sex with him? They were both boys, and it was just unnatural as fuck… well, to him, at least, having been surrounded by swarms of women for as long as he could remember.

But he just couldn't overlook the gaze Ryoga was giving him. Perhaps he can tease him and disrupt his thoughts again? Let's see how he'd act when he's cornered…

Thomas let the corners of his lips curl up into a smirk as he very slightly tilted his lower torso towards Ryoga, brushing his hair aside with a hand. "What's this? Does Ryoga suddenly have the hots for me? Ain't that adorable..."

Damn. He called him out on it. Ryoga's stare broke and he looked back up at Thomas, who was practically grinning from ear to ear in amusement. Did he really pick up on this, or was he just trying to taunt him?

_Two can play at this game, Thomas, _he thought with a small chuckle, _and I don't intend to lose._

He wasted no time lunging at the Arclight, ignoring his surprised yelp and protests as he pins him to a wall. His hands suddenly slid from Thomas's wrists down his abdomen and to his belt, fumbling with it in an attempt to remove it. His smile grew wider as he managed to yank the troublesome belt from the pants loops and toss it aside, working to unzip his trousers next.

Needless to say, this was the last thing Thomas had expected. He could feel his cheeks getting hot and his ears pulsing with the sudden blood rush to his face, His hands instinctively reached down to grab Ryoga's, squirming and trying to escape from the other's grasp. "H-hey! Ryoga! I wasn't serious!"

Ryoga could only laugh. It was odd to see the beloved idol of Asia reacting in discomfort, and he added to his amusement by letting his hand fall a little lower to stroke Thomas in between his legs. "What? Are you only saying that now because I'm undressing you?"

Thomas opened his mouth to reply, but Ryoga's hand gliding over him made him shiver and let out a moan in response. He tried to pull the other's hand away, but Ryoga somehow always managed to have a bit more strength over him… the bastard. "Sh-shut up. You never could take a joke. 

"What of it? You like this, don't you, Mr. Fan service?" The purple haired boy grinned up at Thomas, looking over his flushed face.

"I said shut up."

"Make me."

Thomas just stared hardly at Ryoga. He was really serious… wasn't he? Oh, it was just so hard to tell. He wouldn't have gone through the lengths to actually remove his belt and touch him if he was joking… right? Was he over thinking this? The throbbing of the growing bulge in his trousers was beginning to make him believe otherwise, shivers racing down his spine and ridding his brain of any and all thoughts.

But why was he trying to stop him? What had he to lose?

He released the other's hands and lifted his own to tilt Ryoga's face towards his own. He could feel his body absently squirm as Ryoga's hands slowed to a stop, though he easily disregarded it. Eyes on the boy's mouth, lids slowly closing as the distance between their lips drew to a close as well. Thomas could feel the other tense as they kissed, unable to stop himself from chuckling softly at that.

It takes one to start a battle, and two to start a war… and this is war.

_Fuck you, Ryoga. Fuck you._


	2. A Procrastinator's Christmas

Oh, how Ryoga would have loved to be anywhere else but here.

"I can't believe I have to help you go Christmas shopping, Thomas."

Yes. Ryoga was accompanying Thomas in his quest to buy Christmas presents for his brothers. Why he had to do so on Christmas Eve was beyond him, but whatever. It beat staying at home with his sister Rio… or so he thought.

Thomas looked back and tossed Ryoga a dirty look before turning back around with a small snort. "Shut it, Sharkboy. I'll call your sister to come pick you up."

"Yeah, like she can walk all the way here," Ryoga rolled his eyes, kicking a rock.

"You'd be surprised. That girl is really something else."

Oh please, Thomas. Her brother knows her better than anyone else.

"Anyway," Ryoga muttered, eyes scanning the floods of people walking in and out of the store they were heading to, "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but why did you decide to put off your Christmas shopping till the last minute? You're not gonna find anything good."

Thomas chuckled, "Since when did I say I was trying to buy my brothers something good? As long as they have wrapped presents, they won't bitch about it."

Ryoga blinked. "Ah. Half-assing again, I see."

"I will tie you up and set you aflame if you keep making smartass comments like that."

The Arclight's retorts were always pretty amusing, that the purple-haired boy couldn't help but let a small smile play his lips. "Whatever. What are you planning to get them?"

Thomas stopped walking, tapping a finger on his lower lip. "… a pair of scissors and a pack of razor blades."

Ryoga also stopped dead in his tracks, giving the other the most unamused look he can muster; "… You have got to be kidding me."

Thomas burst out laughing. "Nope! That's what they need."

"Why on earth do you say that?"

Thomas turned to face Ryoga and flashed him a smile. "Well, out of all three of us, I'm the manliest. I mean, there's Chris with his girly long hair… and Michael and his… extreme pinkness. What they need is a haircut and a reminder that they're a man, respectively."

Ryoga just stared at Thomas for a long time before reaching up to rub his temples. Was he really being serious? "My God, Thomas…"

Thomas tilted his head in confusion, but his cheeky grin didn't falter in the slightest. "What?"

"Is that really what you're planning on getting your brothers?"

The Arclight shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

The purple-haired boy suppressed a groan. "What did you get them last year?"

Thomas remained silent for a moment, shuffling his feet on the floor. He took a deep breath before answering, "… I don't remember what I got Chris, but for Michael I got him black hair dye."

Ryoga felt his jaw slightly drop. "Black? Why black?"

"So he would stop coming home in tears about being teased for looking like a girl with his pink hair."

… That's it. He was officially fired from gift-giving.

Ryoga muttered something under his breath and walked past Thomas, grabbing his wrist and dragging him into the store. When he felt the Arclight begin to struggle and attempt to yank his hand free, he tightened his grip and picked up his pace. "Nuh-uh. I am not letting you decide what presents to give your brothers."

Thomas practically whined and continued tugging on his hand, considering clawing at the boy's fingers. "Let go, Ryoga! I honestly don't see what the big deal is with all this!"

"Which is why I'm not letting you pick the gifts," Ryoga avoided the strange looks people were giving them, gazing down some of the isles. "I'm deciding the things to get, and then we're going back to my place so you can wrap them up."

Thomas growled softly, but held back the urge to talk back. It sounded like a good plan to him (though that still meant the money would be coming out of his pocket), and he was fine with just going along for the ride. "Fine… whatever you want, Sharkboy."

"Don't call me that," Ryoga glared at him. "Now, do you want my help or not?"

"Never asked for it."

"Do you?"

Thomas sighed and glanced away in defeat. "… Yeah."

Ryoga blinked, but dismissed the thought and continued leading him on. "Alright then. Now shut up."

The Arclight complied, keeping his mouth shut. He scanned down the aisles they passed, stepping along as Ryoga took him down one of them. He found himself in the office supplies section, eyes wandering from the pens to the whiteboards, binders, notebooks, folders, and other businesslike items. It was after a few seconds of momentary silence did he turn to look at Ryoga and speak. "What are we getting here?"

Ryoga was glancing at the items as well, tapping his chin with a finger. "… How much time does Chris spend in reading and studying?"

Thomas slightly frowned. "About 80% of it. Why?"

"Just getting an idea…" Ryoga reached for some notebooks and a pack of pens. "He may not need any new supplies, but it's good to get him something he would use."

"Like scissors."

Ryoga glowered at him. "Sure, if you want to come off as a royal dick."

Thomas chuckled, a faint but amused smile returning to his face. "Like I said, I didn't say I wanted to get him anything good."

The purple-haired boy sighed. "… Which is why you are a dick."

"Exactly my point, Sharkboy."

Alright, he's had enough of this. Ryoga practically tossed the notebooks and pens into Thomas's hands and stormed off. "Just shut up and take these. We're looking for Michael's gift next."

Thomas almost yelped as he nearly dropped the supplies on the floor, grumbling to himself as he watched Ryoga walk away. Who does the little brat think he is, treating the Fanservice prince that way? Whatever. He was still doing all the work, so it wasn't that bad. He readjusted his grip on the items and followed after him, counting the pens in the box.

Well, now that he thought about it, he did recall Chris complaining about his diminishing supply of pens.

Thomas stopped himself from crashing into Ryoga, barely realizing he was standing idly in the hallway. "Hey! Don't just stop like that, Ryoga, I almost ran into you!"

Ryoga smirked and reached up to pinch Thomas's nose. "Then maybe you should pay attention and watch where you're going, Mr. Fanservice." He walked down another isle, and Thomas rubbed his nose on his wrist, looking around. They made it into the section with kitchen items, and Thomas nearly snorted.

Ryoga tossed him a dirty look and frowned. "What now?"

Thomas grinned and looked along the shelves, eyeing the knife sets. "Nothing… just think it's odd how we made it over here for Michael's gift."

Ryoga arched a brow in mild annoyance. "Why do you say that?"

"No reason."

Ryoga went back to looking along the walls, scanning for something to give to the youngest Arclight. He enjoyed working around the kitchen, he knew that much, and really loved tea. It was only suitable that he would get him something he would love to have with him, like a brand new tea set. His eye caught onto said item, and he smiled, quite relieved and surprised they weren't out of stock yet. He reached down to pick it up, looking the box over.

Thomas watched him listlessly, his focus more on Ryoga's face than the box in his hands. It was only when they made eye contact did he ignore his expression long enough to take a look at the tea set. "What was that?"

"This is a good enough present for Michael, isn't it?"

Thomas shrugged, readjusting his grip on the office supplies. "Yeah, I guess. It apparently beats getting him a pack of razor blades."

Ryoga chuckled in amusement, handing the box over to his companion. He ignored the other's complaints and proceeded to head out of the isle. "Come on, then. We should hurry home and get these wrapped up."

Yes. Time was running out, and the store was swamped with people, as usual. (The only difference was that there were a bigger number of procrastinators than normal shoppers, eager to buy whatever was left on the shelves.)

Thomas shoved past through a group of people when trying to catch up to Ryoga, the tea set making it hard for him to see. "Ryoga, little help here? I can't see where I'm going with all this shit in my hands."

Ryoga, who had been easily maneuvering around the people the Arclight was crashing into, turned around to watch him struggle. "Too bad. All the shopping carts are taken."

"What, you're not even going to bother taking something for me?"

"Of course not," the purple haired boy smirked. "I'm not the one who put off his Christmas shopping till the last minute."

Thomas growled at him. "You're an ass, you know that?"

"So I've been told."


End file.
